Mom Pens Open Letter Reminding Parents They're 'Perfect'

"I want you to believe in yourself."

There is a lot of pressure on parents — put on by themselves, others on social media, parenting books and blogs, etc. .— to be "perfect." Such pressure and judgment often results in parents feeling that they're not doing a good enough job, but mom Leslie Means wants moms and dads to know that they're doing the right thing, regardless of their situation or parenting style.

The letter begins, "I NEED you to hear me. I NEED you to understand something. Whatever you are doing for that precious baby is exactly right."

Means then encourages people to trust their instincts and not let anyone else in their lives cause them doubt or make them feel insecure.

To highlight her point, the Her Views From Home blogger posted a photo of two of her bottles after pumping. One had over four ounces while the other had half an ounce. Means writes, "Could I have tried and tried and eaten better things, and visited more lactation people and spent more time to get lefty [the left breast] to work? Probably. Did I choose my sanity instead? You bet."

She adds that the milk is for her 5-month-old who gets a combination of breast milk and formula. He's doing great and so are his older siblings who both received the same combination. Means reveals that she also received formula when she was a baby and she "turned out pretty great ... even with powdered milk."

She continues, "I share this with you because I want you to believe in yourself. I WANT you to know that what you’re doing is perfectly right."

To make her point clear, Means adds, "Listen. You love your baby, right? You're doing everything in your power to give him/her the best possible life, aren't you? Great. Then you're perfect." Then she lists all of the ways parents are still "perfect." She writes they're perfect whether they bottle-feed, breastfeed, home school kids, send kids to public school, hire a house cleaner, drink too much wine, only drink water, let your kids wear mismatched socks to school, or even forget your kid at school.

She concludes, "I think you get it. Don't listen to what everyone else has to say. Listen to your instincts. God gave them to mothers for a reason. Trust in that. Believe in that. And know that you are raising your babies perfectly." Means signs the letter "a tired mama of three, just doing her best to love her babies."